Bought Phantom 3, how do I fly?

So just picked up DJI Phantom 3 Standard at Target for $700 with the price drop. And they got a free drone backpack deal going on until Jan 2 so now would be a good time to get one. And I hustled on Craigslist for gift cards and saved another $100. Gift card lady had a $700 gift card and it was the perfect amount to buy the drone, plus a random $69 left over one which I used towards the tax.

But it's still in the box now but I wanna wait until day time to fly it. What should I do first, do I need to put it together, and do I need the app? Should I take it of the box tonight to set it up and fly tomorrow? Do I need to charge it? Or can I unbox at the park when I'm ready to fly it? I am a total noob and I don't want to crash this thing, but I heard the expensive DJI drones are easier to fly than the Toys R Us ones.

Plus how do I mount an iPad or iPhone on the controller? In unboxing videos, it just looks like a claw clamp, I have no idea how that is gonna hold a phone / tablet. Is a phone holder a seperate accessory?

Please help a noob out and tell me how to have a successful first day. Will take it to an open area first. I will eventually want to try fly it in different areas. My friend has a house in Hollywood Hills and was hoping the drone is smart enough to navigate a hilly area and be able to land itself back on a small patio. Would get some awesome shots of the houses there, just hope nobody hates on my drone and shoots it down.

Staff Member

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum. I hope that you will take advantage of the benefits that come with membership and that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Phantom quadcopter’s.

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum. I hope that you will take advantage of the benefits that come with membership and that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Phantom quadcopter’s.

I would recommend that you wait at least a few days before flying it. Read up and watch YouTube videos so that you understand how to fly it safely and understand the features. And watch out for trees I did tons of reading before I flew mine because I really wanted to understand it and not do anything that would cause me to crash my new phantom.

Ok, well I'm charging the controller, battery, and phone so it's ready to go tomorrow possibly. I guess a full charge is the first step to success.

I've tried the flight simulator which had a map of my area. I pretend to fly it to a nearby school which is within a mile away. I am just wondering if what I see in the simulator is what it can really do in real life. All it gives me is a pretend field, but when it's for real and it's in automated mode say to return home, will it detect tall things like trees, power lines, buildings?

Plus is this thing smart enough to know where not to fly, especially airports? Like if I take it to LAX and do the automated mode, will it know not to enter or will it just fly there anyways like nothing? I have like old military bases in my area that have no planes but have fences, are drones allowed to fly there? It would really suck if it ran outta battery in a place that's fenced off, so how you be sure that doesn't happen?

Tons of questions but I have to fly this thing eventually. Where should I first try this thing, like how big of a park should I go to? And what if something shitty happens like my phone dying, can the drone operate without the app? Let me know of bad situations now before I get into them.

Welcome to the forum .
Everything said above and take your time .
The FAA wants you to register with them you should go to the sight and read there rules and regulations .
Take your time be safe and have fun .

Also what about the phone battery, like how much charge should you have to last the entire 25 minute flight? I am sure the app drains the battery quick like if I was playing GTA:SA on it. So what's a good charge amount to be on the safe side for iPhone 6? And what's the bare minimum if you're less than 50% of battery life.

My standard DJI controller has no USB to charge the phone. I thought they all do, but I guess that's the pro models. And it has that claw clamp holder and not the square shaped one. Which kind of sucks because having a tablets battery life would be nice but it won't mount to it

Welcome to the forum .
Everything said above and take your time .
The FAA wants you to register with them you should go to the sight and read there rules and regulations .
Take your time be safe and have fun .

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I already registered. Paid $5 and all they gave me was a number. And the only info I gave was my name & mailing address.

I thought the drone's serial number would have to be registered, but I guess it's more of print a label and put it on the drone. So it was super simple, I just get a 10+ digit number and enter my name and address.

But seriously though, I feel this is almost like self incrimination. I would rather give the "i didn't know" response than having it registered and allowing them to arrest me. Or what if someone stole my drone and flew it over an airport and it comes back to me? Def not letting people borrow it now, it's almost feels like letting someone borrow your gun.

But seriously though, I feel this is almost like self incrimination. I would rather give the "i didn't know" response than having it registered and allowing them to arrest me.

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Oh great, just what we want to hear. You would rather not register and say I didn't know. That is the problem with these quadcopters people are not going to register and then do stupid things and then the FAA will ban ALL UAS in this country. They have already banned them temporarily from the DC area including all AMA RC fields.

Oh great, just what we want to hear. You would rather not register and say I didn't know. That is the problem with these quadcopters people are not going to register and then do stupid things and then the FAA will ban ALL UAS in this country. They have already banned them temporarily from the DC area including all AMA RC fields.

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We expected a new wave of fear mongering after the holiday season.

But spreading incorrect information is another thing...

UAS will not be banned, tooooo much money involved.
The DC ban is not temporary or new, it's been around since Feb. 2003. Loooong before the popularity of mllti-rotors.

Please post info regarding the AMA banning drones from R/C fileds. Local clubs may and have but it is not a mandate from the AMA.

All 14 AMA club fields in the 30 mile SFRA are required to stop all flights. This is suppose to end by mid-January but I doubt that will happen. Below is the letter all of us received from the AMA. This request came from the FAA. They claim it is because they will be installing a new radar system that will detect smaller UASs in the next few weeks. However it has also been mentioned that it could take until July. In any event there is NO flying of any UAS in the Washington DC SFRA 30 mile area which includes much of central Maryland and Northern Virginia. And yes I do believe the recent incidents that have occurred especially in Washington DC as related to drones have prompted this even though the FAA never specifically states it.
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As we continue our efforts to develop a plan for the resumption of model aircraft operations in the Washington, D.C. Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), we are hearing reports that some individuals may be flying inside the SFRA even though they know it is in violation of the current airspace restrictions. We are asking for your help in spreading the word to the National Capitol Region model aircraft community that such activity is subject to enforcement action, and could damage our efforts to secure the interagency concurrence that is critical to this effort. As I have told many of you over the last weeks and months, there is increasing governmental support to make this happen, both within FAA and the whole of government, but our combined efforts could easily be delayed, or derailed entirely, by any incidents that involve folks knowingly operating within the SFRA in violation of current airspace restrictions. We know that the vast, vast majority of model aircraft hobbyists/enthusiasts, whether they are members of a formal organization or not, wholeheartedly follow the rules, police themselves and others, and do everything they can to operate safely and legitimately. Anything you can do to help us get the word out would be deeply appreciated. The last thing anyone wants to hear from the federal government is “be patient”, but you folks have been patient, and understanding, and we sincerely appreciate both as we work to try and get you back in the air.

On another note, many of you have invited FAA and our interagency security partners to come out and visit your flying sites and talk to your members, etc. We appreciate the invites and have extended them to our interagency law enforcement and security partners. We hope to take you up on the invitations in the near future. Additionally, I know that many of your members and fellow model aircraft enthusiasts have questions and concerns, about both the SFRA issue and model aircraft operations in general. I would be happy to address them directly, either in person or via telcon or email, and I’m sure my partners from FAA Legal, the UAS Integration Office, and Flight Standards would be more than willing to join in the discourse. If you are interested in such a discussion, just let me know.